DETERMINATION OF OPTIMAL OBSERVATION NETWORK PARAMETERS FOR MAPPING PALEOCHANNEL BY THE ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY TOMOGRAPHY METHOD BASED ON NUMERICAL AND PHYSICAL MODELING

Abstract

Link for citation: Osipova P.S., Olenchenko V.V., Chekryzhov A.V. Determination of optimal observation network parameters for mapping paleochannel by the electrical resistivity tomography method based on numerical and physical modeling. Bulletin of the Tomsk Polytechnic University. Geo Аssets Engineering, 2023, vol. 334, no. 10, рр. 232-242. In Rus. The relevance of the study is explained by the need to determine the methodological features of applying the electrical resistivity tomography method to map paleochannels when prospecting for placer gold. The main aim: to determine the necessary and enough parameters of the observation network for paleochannel mapping based on numerical and physical modeling. Object: electrical fields on the physical and numerical model of the paleochannel. Methods: electrical resistivity tomography, physical experiment, numerical simulation. Results. Electrical soundings by electrical tomography were carried out on a physical model of a river valley. In addition, a numerical experiment was performed on a three-dimensional model of a river valley fragment with a paleochannel. The unit of the survey scale is the distance between two electrodes, which in the experiment is 1 cm and is equivalent to 5 m in real field studies. The distance between the profiles varied from 2 to 12 cm with a step of 2 cm, which corresponds to different survey scales. In accordance with geological concepts, the authors formed a model of a river valley with a segmentally gently stage of channel formation. Three-dimensional inversion was carried out for the data set obtained at the maximum density of the observation network, and then for the data sparse to the desired scale. On the resistivity map, the paleochannel is recognized by a ribbon-shaped high-resistivity anomaly. The analysis of the maps showed that to determine the shape of the paleochannel in plan, it is necessary to use the observation network scale of 1:3000, at which the distance between the profiles is 30 m. The physical experiment results were confirmed by mathematical modeling. The scale should be reduced to 1:5000 with detailing in individual areas to improve the economic efficiency of geophysical research.